Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) gained a new GOP primary challenger on Monday after former Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley announced she would run against one of the last pro-impeachment House Republicans in 2024.
Newhouse is one of two GOP members left in the House who voted in favor of impeaching former President Donald Trump. Though Washington state’s jungle primary allowed for Newhouse to fend off primary opponents easily in 2022, the entry of Smiley, a middle-ground Republican who ran a competitive race against Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), could narrow the congressman’s chances of reelection.
“It’s time for fresh leadership,” Smiley said in an interview with the National Review. “We have an invasion at the border. We have unrest in our own country. We have an economy where families are struggling to keep up with the price increase, and we have unrest around the globe.”
In a video announcing her candidacy, she drew on her experience with veterans advocacy after her husband, former Army Maj. Scotty Smiley, was blinded by a suicide car bomb in Iraq almost 20 years ago.
“For almost 20 years, I’ve worked to change the government from the outside. Now it’s clear: The best way for me to continue my work and deliver change for Washington families is inside Congress,” Smiley said.
Smiley ran a close race against Murray leading up to the 2022 election, but the Democratic senator defeated her by nearly 15 points. During her 2022 campaign, Smiley told the Washington Examiner that she “hates labels” and wanted to find “common ground” with people regardless of political affiliation. Her attacks against Murray were more about leadership shortcomings than politically Republican motives.
